MINI-UNITY MEETINGS

In the past few years there have been upward of a score of major unity efforts within discipledom. These have been rather extensively advertised and represent a great deal of planning. The programs have featured representative thinkers from all the major wings of our fractured movement. The meetings began with almost no help from the power centers of the brotherhood, but they continue with increasing support from the powers that be as well as the rank and file.

It now appears that such concentrated unity efforts will not be needed much longer, for they are giving way to what might be called the mini-unity meeting. These are gatherings at the grassroots level that arise spontaneously because of the desires of brethren in given areas. They have little planning behind them and are not efforts to bring brotherhood leaders together. They are alert, concerned, and intelligent disciples who have grown weary of our staid ways, people who want to move to new frontiers of faith and establish new contacts. The mini-meeting may be in a home, a cafeteria, or the fellowship hall of some church, and it is made up of preachers, elders, deacons and members from several of our factions. There are no “unity leaders” behind them and few big name preachers involved.

Those who have been responsible for the larger efforts should be gratified with this development, for the mini-unity meetings have been inspired at least in part by the more extensive efforts. Once together in the larger effort where they see firsthand what it can do for spiritual depression, they go back home with a zeal to do something like it on a smaller scale.

Sometimes a few preachers from the Church of Christ and Christian Church get together in someone’s office for prayer and study. Sometimes a young couple will invite a few other couples over to their home, crossing lines that could not have easily been crossed in their congregation. Sometimes there are regular meetings at neutral places, with the responsibility for it passed from one small group to the next. A list of interested people usually circulates, the ones to be informed of next meeting. The list has a way of growing, even without advertising.

It is part of “the underground church” in that it goes on, somewhat unobtrusively, with an indifference to the desires of the Establishment. We are pleased that these are not the efforts of folk who have left us or left them.

They are efforts within the church that manage to progress without the blessings of the church. It is the underground at work, but it is a peaceful underground. They are not out to start a “unity sect” nor do they have an ax to grind. They are not even trying to demonstrate, for they are willing for it to move along quietly and without notice. They seek only to be a blessing to those who share, to discover together what fellowship really means.

One brother, impressed with the emergence of so many mini-meetings, is making a study of the why of such gatherings. He wants to know why people are attracted to them and what they get from them, and he has sent out a questionnaire in hopes of getting an answer.

He wants to know if it is because in these small gatherings they get a chance to express themselves. Or is it because they are starved for the spiritual food that such gatherings may provide? Or is it curiosity? Or is it for the sake of new social contacts? Or is it an act of rebellion toward the home congregation so set in its ways?

Men are usually motivated by a cluster of desires rather than just one, but surely a predominate motive is the desire to realize the Lord’s prayer and be one with their estranged brothers. To sit down and talk with a brother that you have for a lifetime dubbed an “anti” or a “digressive” or a “liberal” or a “fanatic” can be a liberating experience, especially when the setting is informal and friendly. Nobody is having a debate or anything. One doesn’t have to take sides. You go over and pour yourself some coffee, sit down with Al, Dick, Mary, and Lou, and talk about Jesus. And about your problems. And your prejudices. Later you find out that Al and Mary belong to that “anti bunch” down the highway, while Dick and Mary belong to “those liberals” up at the Disciples church. You find yourself surprised that you all had so much in common, and you are amazed to find that the others love Jesus just like you do!

Hegel says that man’s history is the story of his desire to be free. That is my answer to the brother who is asking about the why of these mini-meetings. Our people want to be free—free of mediocrity, superficiality, phoniness, and littleness.

For those who are uneasy about such meetings, and they are legion, brethren who fear something might happen to orthodoxy, I have news for them: nothing can stop them! The keepers of orthodoxy had better follow a “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em” strategy, for otherwise the underground may have all the real meat while the Establishment is left with only whey.

The thing to do is to encourage such efforts. Let them multiply. It was this spirit that moved the heart of Jewish religion from the temple to the synagogue, thus saving Judaism from spiritual anemia. If one needs a reason why the mini-meeting is emerging, he only needs to go to our churches on Sunday and Wednesdays, our two holy days, and witness for himself what intelligent brethren have to listen to, week in and week out—or what they have formed a habit of not listening to. It is almost unbelievable that it could be so bad without a lot of planning and effort in boredom.

To those who are carrying on these mini efforts, and to others who would like to start, we are suggesting some guidelines that might prove helpful. To those who are attracted to the idea but are reluctant to try, we would urge them to venture forth with prayer and faith. Once a quiet word makes the rounds, you will be surprised how many of our loved ones in Christ are longing for just such experiences. There are more free men in Christ than you might think. Certainly this is not the season for the Elijah blues.

1. They should be spontaneous rather than forced.

Until there is an apparent desire for freedom, then be content to say an occasional word or send out a few papers that might provoke thought. Don’t try to start unity meetings, but reap one that is already flowering in the hearts of men, Don’t urge, just invite. If you are in Churches of Christ, you might begin with a home gathering of a few free minds for exchange of ideas. Later the suggestion could be made that some of God’s other sheep might like to attend. Invite the Christian Church minister over and ask him to bring two or three interested people with him,

2. Do whatever is necessary to avoid any aura of faction.

You don’t want to start a sect and you don’t want anybody to break away from his home congregation. So the time of meetings should not conflict, and those involved should remain loyal to the home church. People who are mad and want to cause trouble should not be invited. You can pray for them!

If your motives are impugned after all such caution, and they will be, don’t argue or try to defend yourself. Just invite those who are criticizing to the next session. Just say something like, “I’ve been wanting you to come and meet brother Jones from the Christian Church, and this is a good time to invite you.”

3. Leave the controversial unity leaders out of it.

With a “do-it-yourself” kit you can move along without the help of experts. The kit is your own broken spirit, the sacrifice that God says he desires the most. If your heart bleeds for our fractured condition, then God can take you and do wonders. You don’t need Abilene or St. Louis or Wichita or Arlington or New York or Denton. And Lufkin, Austin, and Nashville would be of no help, So do it yourself, you and the Lord.

4. Keep it small.

Be faithful to mini. Don’t start counting noses in measuring success. Just plant and water and let God give the increase. Someone else can start one in his home, you know.

5. Set up a few ground rules.

The rule above all rules is love, but the only love that some have is to hear themselves talk. So the meeting should be at least partly structured, with some plan, with somebody directing it, Small talk before and after is all right, but there should be that hour when you get down to business. Some controversial essay could be read and discussed, with everyone encouraged to say something about it. A priest or rabbi could be invited to answer questions about his religion. Certainly the irenic preachers in our own various groups could be invited to share, but no one should be allowed to dominate the meeting. A basic ground rule should be that each one remain agreeable even when he disagrees. And it should be made clear that it is a meeting of free minds in Christ, with no one required to surrender any truth he holds. It is a sharing experience of people who love Jesus.

Oh, yes, invite Minnie to the mini-meeting. In those in which I have engaged I notice the women receive a great blessing from them. It helps to atone for the otherwise second-class citizenship she has in the kingdom of God as per meetinghouse religion.—the Editor